Bag and closure means therefor



Nov. 11, 1969 s. KAMINS ET AL 3,477,634

BAG AND CLOSURE MEANS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 18, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Seymour Kamins Norman Rosenberg BYHuII. llmK tumh wk.

ATTORNEY Nov. 11, 1969 s. KAMINS ET AL 3,477,634

BAG AND CLOSURE MEANS THEREFOR Filed Get. 18, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS mour Komins man Rosenberg ML mmfimmam ATTORNEY United States Patent f 3,477,634 BAG AND CLOSURE MEANS THEREFOR Seymour Kamins, Oceanside, and Norman Rosenberg,

Bayside, N.Y., assignors to CTP Industries Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 676,201 Int. Cl. B65d 31/00, 33/06; A45c 13/26 U.S. Cl. 229-54 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a two-piece handle for a thin film, thermoplastic bag. Each of the two handle members is identical, and each comprises an elongate bar portion having a fiat surface adapted for scaling to one of the open mouths of the bag. Each member further is provided with a handle grip which is integrally connected with the elongate bar portion. The two members are further provided with functionally engaging elements which are respectively located on facing surfaces of the two members when they are in register to close the mouth of the bag.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Various types of carrier bags are known in the art, including numerous kinds made of thermoplastic material. Many of the prior art bags include a combination handle and closure means for the bag which makes it possible to provide a tight closure therefor.

It is also well known in the art to provide bags whose main body portion is formed of a thin film thermoplastic material such as the more common vinyl or polyethylene plastics. The prior art further teaches the use of a combination handle and closure means for such a thin film plastic bag which is formed of a thermoplastic material which is welded or cemented or otherwise fastened to the thin film forming the bag walls. It is also common to fabricate the handle and closure means of a thermoplastic having substantially heavier gauge than that of the thin film used for the main portion of the bag since this provides greater strength and provides a desirable rigidity to the mouth of the bag, thereby making it more convenient to open the bag and to maintain it Open for 0btaining access to its interior.

In addition to the foregoing, it is also known in the art to provide a combination handle and closure means which comprises two substantially similar members formed of a semi-rigid material which is a fairly heavy gauge plastic which are each welded or heat sealed to the mouth of the bag. To open the bag, it is then only necessary to grasp the two handle portions with ones right and left hands, respectively, and separate the two handle portions.

Quite often, a securing or locking means is employed which tends to hold the two oppositely disposed handle portions together, thereby effectively maintaining a tight closure of the mouth of the bag. In its most practical form, such a fastening means may comprise a small protuberance on one member which frictionally engages an indentation or recess in the opposite member as is, for example, shown in the patent of Harrah, Ser. No. 2,988,- 769. To open a bag which is provided with such a closure means, it is again only necessary to separate the two handle portions, but now, obviously, somewhat more force is required to accomplish this because the fasteners must first be unsnapped.

One of the disadvantages of the prior art bags of the kind just described is concerned with the difiiculty of separating the two handle members so as to open the mouth of the bag. Thus, it is desirable to form the two handle members in such a manner that, when placed in register to close the mouth of the bag, the two handle 3,477,634 Patented Nov. 11, 1969 members together will provide a smooth appearance having a feeling of substantial solidity and rigidity. It is also desirable to provide a fastening means for the two handle members which ensures that they will be quite tightly held together so that the bag mouth will normally stay closed unless it is desired to be opened by the user. As a result, the two handle members are generally quite tightly helirl together to form a smooth, integral-appearing handle assembly which can be somewhat difficult to open because of the problem in separating the one handle member from the other. Experience has shown that the users of such car rier bags, not knowing how to open the bag, will tear open the plastic walls of the bag below the handle in order to get access to the interior, thereby rendering the bag incapable of further use. Quite frequently this is best accomplished by inserting a fingernail or the like between the two plastic handle members so as to provide an initial separation therebetween so that the separated portions can then be grasped with several fingers of each hand and forced apart, thereby breaking the connection between the two members and allowing the mouth of the bag to open.

It is a feature of the handle and closure means of the present invention to greatly facilitate the opening of the bag. This is accomplished primarily by tapering opposing faces of the two handle members so as to provide a thinner portion on each of the opposing faces, thereby leaving a gap therebetween even when the two handle members are closely assembled with bag mouth closed. With the two members registered, an aperture is provided between the'two members which makes it easily possible at all times for one to insert ones fingers into such aperture and obtain a grasp on each of the opposing members so as to force them apart and thereby open the mouth of the bag.

Another feature of the bag and handle means of the present invention is that of providing a readily openable closure means as just described in a construction in which the two handle members are identical. This makes it possible to manufacture and stock only a single item for the handle and closure means since any two members when placed in juxtaposition form a complete handle. To make possible this identity of parts, each part is formed so that with respect to the functionally engaging elements of the two parts forming a pair, a protruding part on one member faces a cooperating recess in the other member, and this arrangement prevails not only with respect to studs and recesses but also with respect to elongate protuberances and cooperating elongate slots.

In describing the invention, reference will be made to the drawings in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a typical bag and handle closure means of the present invention showing particularly the two-part handle;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of one of the two members forming the handle and closure means of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the handle and closure means showing the two parts thereof in assembled relationship;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional end view taken along the section line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectiona1 end view of the handle and closure means of the present invention showing the two members thereof in assembled relationship;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional end view taken along the section line 6-6 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional end view taken along the section line 77 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 8 is a side view of a handle of a modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 9 is a top view of a pair of the handles as shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of handles taken along the section line 10-10- of FIG- URE 8;

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of handles taken along the section line 1111 of FIG- URE 8; and

FIGURES 12 and 13 comprise side and end views of a further modified form of bag handle of the invention.

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of an improved carrier bag of the present invention showing particularly the two handle members 10 and 11. The two members 10 and 11 are preferably identical in shape and configuration, and each comprises an elongate strip portion 12 having along its bottom edge an indented strip portion 13 as better shown in FIGURE 4 which is adapted for the sealing thereto of a mouth of the bag wall 14 as shown in FIGURE 4. A handle grip portion 15 is integrally formed with the elongate strip portion 12 and comprises two upstanding leg portions 16 and a transverse portion 17 which is generally parallel to the elongate strip portion 12. The upstanding legs 16 are connected to the elongate strip portion 12 with interior and exterior stress-relieving profiles 18 and 19 respectively. Of course, it should be understood that the two handle members need not be identical but that instead mating male and female members may be provided if desired.

Each of the handle members 10 is provided with means for detachably securing it to the opposite member when the two are mated together in a juxtaposed relationship as when the mouth of the bag is desired to be closed. Thus, each member 10 is provided on one side of a center line through the bag with an elongate protuberance 20 and, on the other side of the center line of the member 10 with a generally corresponding elongate recess 21. The recess is made of somewhat longer length than the protuberance 20 thereby permitting the fitting of the protuberance 20 of one member into the mating recess 21 of the other member even when the two members are not precisely in register. A similar protuberance 22 appears on the one side of the handle grip portion of the member 10 including one of the upstanding legs 16 and that portion of the transverse portion 17 which extends inwardly toward the center of member 10 from the upper end of the leg 16. A similar recess 23 is symmetrically disposed on the other half of the handle grip portion. It will be apparent that when the two members 10 are brought face to face, the protuberance 22 of one member will fit into the recess 23 of the other, thereby preventing a lateral shifting of the two members relative to each other and providing an effective dust seal when the mouth of the bag is closed.

In addition to the foregoing, the two member 10 may he looked together by means of complimentary studs and recesses. Thus, each member 10 is provided with a projecting stud 24 adjacent one end of the elongate bar portion 12 (FIGURE 7) and is also provided with a recess 25 which is symmetrically disposed at the opposite end of the elongate bar portion 12 (FIGURE 6). In a similar manner, a projecting stud 26 on one member 10 adjacent the region of joinder of upstanding leg 16 to elongate member 10 is matched by a symmetrically disposed recess 27 at the juncture of the other upstanding leg 16 with the elongate portion 12. When the two members 10 are brought into registration, each protruding stud fits securely into a complementary recess to thereby ensure that the two handle members are held tightly together to keep the mouth of the bag closed.

The cross-sectional view of FIGURE 5 illustrates the elongate protuberances 20 and 22 as being of generally triangular cross-section and fitting into respective recesses 4 21 and 23 in the opposed member 10 which is of generally rectangular cross section.

The top view of FIGURE 3 clearly shows that each of the members 10 has the central portion of its transverse portion 17 tapered in thickness so as to be thinnest at its central portion. When this is done, and the two members 10 are mated together in order to close the mouth of the bag, it can be readily seen that a central aperture is provided. Such aperture readily permits the user of the carrier bag to insert one or more fingers into such aperture and thereby readily grasp each of the two opposed members 10 0s as to facilitate their separation thereby permitting the mouth of the bag to be opened.

As shown in FIGURES l and 2, an upwardly-extending projection 1562 may be provided on each of the members 1%, and preferably each such projecting portion lies at least slightly to one side of center. Thus, when the two members 10 are brought together to close the mouth of the bag, the two projecting portions 15a will be disposed laterally of each other thereby making it readily possible for the user, by a simple twisting motion exerted on the two portions 15a, to separate the two handle members 10 and thus open the bag.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG- URES 8-11, the two handle members 30' are, for the most part, quite similar in design and construction with what is shown in the embodiments of FIGURES l-7. The principal difference, however, resides in the presence of an indentation 31 formed in the upper edge of each of the members 30. When the two members are brought together to close the mouth of the bag, the two indentations 31 are disposed symmetrically opposite the center of the mated handles so that each indentation 31 lies directly opposite a portion of the opposing handle which is not cut away with an indentation. As a result, it again becomes readily possible for the user to separate the two handle portions 30 to open the mouth of the bag.

As with the embodiment of FIGURES 1-7, the embodiment of FIGURES 8-11 employes a plurality of studs 32 and recesses 33 as shown in FIGURE 10, to provide locking engagement. As shown in FIGURE 11, elongate projections 34 of the triangular cross section are provided to fit into elongate recesses 35 which are preferably of rectangular cross section.

A further modification of the invention is shown in FIGURES 12 and 13. According to this embodiment, each of the opposing handle members 36 (of which only one is shown in FIGURE 12) is provided with a slight protuberance or bulge 37 near the top and central part of the handle portion. As a result, when the two handle members 36 are brought together to close the mouth of the bag, the uppermost handle portions cannot be brought into full contact with each other because of the presence of the bulging portions 37. As a result, the user always finds that an access is available to separate the two handle portions and thereby open the mouth of the bag.

Having described an improved carrier bag as one embodiment of this invention, we desire it to be understood that various modifications and alterations may be made thereto without in any manner departing from the scope of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. In a carrier bag of the type having front and back bag walls formed of a thin-film thermoplastic material the improvement which comprises:

a handle and closure means including first and second members each formed of a flexible non-brittle material having a thickness and tensile strength substantially greater than the thin-film material of the bag walls,

each said member having an elongate strip portion attached to a respectively opposite wall of the bag at the mouth thereof,

each of said members having a handle grip portion integrally formed with said elongate strip portion and having a generally inverted U-shape,

complementary studs and recesses on said members adapted for frictional engagement for releasably securing said two members to selectively hold the mouth of the bag closed, said studs and recesses being positioned and adapted for engagement when said two members are brought into juxtaposition to close the mouth of said bag.

at least one longitudinal protuberance on at least one said member adapted to substantially freely fit within a complementary longitudinal recess on the other said member,

each said recess having a longer length than that of the mating longitudinal portuberance to permit the mating thereof even when said first and second members are not in exact alignment, and

means on at least one of said members defining a finger access between said two members when the two handle portions are in opposed relationship.

2. The carrier bag of claim 1 in which each said longitudinal protuberance has a substantially triangular crosssection and each said longitudinal recess has a substantially longitudinal cross-section, each said recess be ing longer than the protuberance fitting therein.

3. The carrier bag of claim 1 in which at least one of said members has the bight portion of at least one of said U-shaped handle grip portions tapered in thickness at least along the top edge of said portion and on the face thereof which is adjacent the other of said members so as to be thinnest at its central portion and thereby define a finger access.

4. The carrier bag of claim 1 in which said finger access defining means comprises a protuberance on the face of at least one of said handle grip portions which abuts the corresponding face on the other member when said two members are juxtaposed to thereby prevent the opposed faces of said two members from being in close contact at the location of said protuberance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,393,568 1/ 1946 Root.

2,513,040 6/1950 Miller 12 3,198,228 8/1'965 Naito 1503 3,313,470 4/196-7 Renner et al ISO-1.7 X 3,363,827 1/1968 Renner et a1. 150-1.7 X 3,371,696 3/1968 Ausnit 150-3 DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner US. (:1. X.R. 

